


Degrees of Love

by Ssheph



Series: Degrees of Love [1]
Category: Degrees of Lewdity (Video Game)
Genre: Extortion, F/F, Multi, Orphans, Trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:48:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25267138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ssheph/pseuds/Ssheph
Summary: Robin is an orphan in a pretty rough town, who wants to tell her best friend's story through her eyes.
Relationships: Robin/PC
Series: Degrees of Love [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1830532
Comments: 2
Kudos: 15





	1. My Birthday!

My name is Robin, and this is the story of how I fell in love with my best friend. I live in a small coastal town hidden in the mountains of northern Scotland, called Auchrabeich. There’s the sea to the north, and forested mountains all around, so we’re pretty isolated. The only real way out of the town is by sea or the pass through the mountains east, where there's lots of farmland.

Raven and I are orphans, but we have the same birthday and our rooms are right next to each other, so we’ve been practically twins growing up. When we don’t have school, we tend to have picnics in the forest or even see the occasional movie.

Our story really starts on my 18th birthday. It was 8AM on a Sunday, and now that I was of age, I went to the Matron’s office to collect release papers. Bailey is a fairly plain looking woman, but she’s built like a truck. Most of the orphans are scared of her, especially since she seems to keep pretty shady company. The door is open, and no one seems to be in, so I enter.

“Good morning!” I say politely, “I was wondering if-”

“I know what you want,” Bailey grumbles, crossing her arms. “You want your release papers so you can have independent citizenship.”

“So you’ve been expecting me?” I ask excitedly.

“There’s a little problem with that fantasy kid.” She pushes her dark hair from her eyes, “I’ve been taking care of you for a long time with nothing to show for it.”

“Once I’m established, I could donate-”

“You owe me big-time, and I’m not gonna let you go until you’ve made it worth my while. Go out there and get some cash. I don’t care how you do it. But I want a first payment of £100 on my desk in a week. You’ll have it, or I’ll find other ways of getting value from you.”

She looks back to paperwork on her desk, apparently dismissing me. This explained why there were still so many older orphans around! As if Bailey wasn’t scary enough as it was, now she was extorting me for my freedom! I returned to my room, tears in my eyes.

After a while, I managed to clean myself up a bit and went to knock on Raven’s door, but she wasn’t in. She was usually up earlier than me, and had probably gotten the same meeting with Bailey earlier. It was already late in the morning, so I rushed to the beach to set up my lemonade stand. I cursed myself, since I had just gone out last week and spent most of what I had saved to get an old TV and a practically new gamestation at the local game shop for my birthday. They don’t take returns on used stuff, so there was no way I could get that money back! I’d probably be okay for paying Bailey this week, but afterwards….

Try as I might to get customers, it was overcast, and a pretty slow day. I made a few sales, but I was just barely breaking even with ingredients by the time the sun was setting. Heart heavy, I went back to the orphanage on Domus street, and only took the time to have a quick bath before holing up in my room to game and forget my worries. I checked Raven's room a few times, but she was never there, so we didn't even do anything for our birthday. The new school semester started in the morning, I only played for a few hours before bed.

The next day, I got up and put on my uniform. As long as the style was right, we could have any colors, but I only have the standard white top with black skirt. I was up plenty early, so I gamed a bit before school, leaving at 8 to be there on time. The town is small, so it’s only a 20 minute walk, but I like to get there a little early. My first class is math, which is my favorite, so I get in and study for a bit each morning. I want to leave town and go to a city where I can develop games after I graduate. As I walk up to the gates on Oxford street, I see Whitney hanging around outside the gates with some of her pals. She always acts like some kind of gang leader, I guess since her home life is pretty bad. She’s always picking on the orphans, so most of us avoid her. I slip into a group of arriving students and manage to enter without being noticed.

I don’t see Raven in math class, but the teacher soon arrives and the class quiets down. She seems rather strict, and introduces herself as River. She’s got graying brown hair, and icy blue eyes which glare behind her glasses. I pay close attention to the lesson for the next hour until the bell rings.

My second class is History, which is honestly pretty boring. I don’t see Raven there either, nor at third period Swimming, lunch, fourth period Science, or fifth period English. I’m starting to wonder if maybe she didn’t get held up by Bailey and just left without saying goodbye. I walk home in silence, trying my best to avoid the busier parts of town.

When I get to the orphanage, my day brightens significantly. Down the hall, just about to enter her room, is Raven.

“Hey! I shout. She turns to me, her lithe figure and medium-length dark hair seeming to wave as she does. I run toward her, but I’m so distracted I trip and crash into her. Luckily, she keeps us up, even holding my arm to steady me, “Thanks,” I say. I’m so embarrassed, but I can’t help but smile, I’m just so happy she’s not gone. “I didn’t see you yesterday,” I say, “Remember, you can visit me anytime you want.” I realize I haven't shown her my game station, “I have something to show you, I’m so excited!” I give her a hug and run past her to get into my room. She mumbles something about changing out of her school clothes real quick as she closes my door behind me.

I change too, and just a few minutes later, there’s a knock on my door. I trip over myself trying to get to it, before throwing it open and grabbing Raven in a hug. “Glad you came, Look!” I pull her into the room, pointing at my gamestation and the old TV in the corner. “I’ve been saving up,” I say as I sit on the bed. “What are you waiting for?” I ask, patting the bed beside me. We play for an hour or two. I want to ask if Bailey’s extorting her too, but I think I know, and I can’t bring myself to ruin the mood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for taking the time to read the beginning of this story! Hopefully I can keep it updated at least weekly.


	2. Unbelievable!

Over the next few days, I only really see Raven at lunch and when we walk home together. She comes by some mornings before school to walk together, but she always seems pretty distracted. Wednesday afternoon, I see Whitney accost her at the school gates, but the English teacher, Doren, breaks them up before it goes too far. On the way home, I asked if she could help me with my lemonade stand this weekend, and she said maybe, if she could find time. I’m not really sure what she’s doing for money, but I guess it keeps her pretty busy.

Thursday evening, she knocks on my door about half an hour before bed, soaked head to toe from rain. “Jeez!” I cried, “Come in and dry off before you catch something!” Under her coat, she’s wearing a fancy maid dress that looked super cute, and pretty pricey. “Where’d you get that!?”  
“The shopping center on High Street,” Raven beams. “Only £ 25 and it’s already paid for itself in tips.”  
“Oh, you’re working at the Ocean Breeze?” I frown a bit. The Ocean Breeze Cafe wasn’t exactly my competition per-se, but a lot of people probably pass up my lemonade stand to go there for refreshments on beach days. “Are they at least paying well?”  
“If they were, would I need to be wearing this getup for tips?” Raven retorts. “ £5 an hour waiting tables, and believe me, it’s no fun when the customers get handsy.”  
“I mean, surely there’s other work around?” I inquire. I love my lemonade stand, but it wouldn’t hurt to know what else is in town.

“I don’t know. I talked to the docks on Mer the other day, but they only want weekenders, and it’s a 12 hour shift.”  
“They can get pretty rough there,” I agree. We’d all heard tales about the dockers and their not-so-savory behavior. “That’s why I stick to the lemonade, people always want something to drink.”

“That can’t last forever though,” Raven says, as she sits on the bed and grabs a controller. “Mind if we just play for a bit?”

We play until 9, laughing quietly until she excuses herself to go to bed.  
  
The next morning, I wake up at 6:30 to the sound of scraping in the back garden. I look out the window to see Raven planting daisies in a little flowerbed she’d set aside for herself in the corner. I decide to go out and join her, putting on a sundress real quick. But as I walk out the door, I barely catch the gate closing behind her, despite it being way too early for school. I don’t have my uniform, and it didn’t look like she had hers either, unless it was in her bag. I run over to the fence, but she’s nowhere to be seen. I make up my mind to catch her at lunch and find out what’s up, before heading back inside to get ready for the day.  
  
That afternoon at lunch, I wave her over in the canteen. “Hey, I saw you head out this morning. Left pretty early, eh?”  
“I was doing a bit of exploring. You have history with Winter, right?”  
“The old lady who also runs the museum? Yeah, but she’s so boring, I can barely catch half of what she’s talking about.

“Well, in yesterday’s class, she was going on about the way the school and a big part of the town are all built on an old fortress site, and how there’s a lot of subterranean stuff that’s been sealed up over the years.”  
“What of it?” I ask. “It’s not like any of it is useful.”  
“Well, she was at the Cafe the other day, and I overheard her talking to someone from the Mayor’s office about a fund for antiques and artifacts brought to the Museum.” Raven’s eyes sparkle, like she’s discovered some secret.

“So you’re thinking that you can find something underground and sell it to the Museum?” I’m pretty skeptical, though stranger things have happened. “But surely they’d have cleaned out the tunnels before sealing them.”

“That’s why I didn’t go to the tunnels, I went to the sewers.” At this point I think she’s lost her mind, and my expression must show it, because she continues, “It was only for a little while, and I went home and showered before school, but there’s a whole system below the normal drains, full of all kinds of weird junk.”

“Not more of these rumors, Raven,” I sigh, exasperated. “That’s stuff they told us as kids to scare us at the orphanage.”  
“It’s not!” she insists, “I went down there this morning, and I got a candlestick and some kind of weird cucumber decoration or something.”  
“What, next you’re gonna tell me there were giant lizards chasing you?” I tease. “Don’t you think we’re a bit old for these kinds of stories?”  
“Not only that, but there’s a person down there, Robin.”  
“Please! Now I know you’re screwing with me. I’ve been gullible in the past, but you don’t honestly expect me to believe….” I trail off as she rolls up her sleeve, showing me a distinct hand-shaped bruise on her wrist.

“She grabbed me, Robin. She called me Charlene or Charles or something, I couldn’t really tell. She was screechy and horrible and smelled so awful!”  
“Are you okay, Raven? Don’t you think bruising yourself just for a prank is going a bit far?”  
“Look at it! It’s a right handprint on my right wrist! How could I have done that to myself? I’m telling you, there’s a woman in the sewers hoarding antiques.”

I don’t know how to explain it, and the evidence lines up, but I can’t let her get the best of me. “I still say you’re nuts. Even if it’s all true, you’d have to be insane to take risks like that just for a quick quid.” She looks away from me, obviously a little hurt at the insinuation. “Insane or desparate,” I offer, but she doesn’t reply, instead watching as a fight breaks out between Whitney and a tanned girl with dark hair across the canteen.  
I take the opportunity to finish eating and excuse myself to wait in the science classroom for Sirrus, the teacher, to arrive. 

Raven doesn’t talk to me the rest of the day, and I watched her head toward the lake with some other teens after school, so I guess she was still mad at me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I'm really anxious about writing interactions that aren't already scripted, so hopefully they turned out okay.


End file.
